Leaf-buds small, very short, obtuse, free. Leaves 2-1/8 in. long, 1-1/8 in. wide, thin; apex abruptly pointed; margin finely serrate, the teeth very short, tipped with red; petiole 2 in. long, slender. Flower-buds small, short, conical, plump, free, singly on short spurs; flowers 1-1/4 in. across, occasionally tinged with pink in the bud, becoming white when open, well distributed, average 9 buds in a cluster; pedicels 3/4 in. long, slender, pubescent. Fruit in season late December to February; 3 in. long, 2-3/8 in. wide, obovate-pyriform, with a short, thick neck; stem 3/4 in. long, thick, woody; cavity acute, very deep, narrow, furrowed, uneven, compressed; calyx open; lobes narrow, acute; basin deep, narrow, abrupt, furrowed and wrinkled; skin thick, tough, roughened by the dots, the surface uneven; color yellow, marked with many russet dots and with patches and veinings of russet, often with a dull brownish-red blush; dots numerous, small, very conspicuous, russet; flesh tinged with yellow, granular near the center and toward the calyx, tender and melting, juicy, buttery, sweet, with a rich, pleasant flavor, very aromatic; quality very good. Core large, closed, axile, with meeting core-lines; calyx-tube short, wide, conical; seeds large, wide, long, plump, acute. [Illustration: ELIZABETH] ELIZABETH =1.= _Mag. Hort._ =8=:57. 1842. =2.= _Ibid._ =13=:63, fig. 6. 1847. =3.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =2=:126, fig. 1869. =4.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 23. 1897. _Manning's Elizabeth._ =5.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 385. 1845. =6.= Hovey _Fr. Am._ =2=:41, Pl. 1851. =7.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 231. 1854. =8.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 810, fig. 1869. _Elizabeth de Manning._ =9.= Mas _Le Verger_ =2=:105, fig. 51. 1866-73. =10.= _Guide Prat._ 93, 269. 1876. _Nina._ =11.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 623. 1884. =12.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 258. 1889. Elizabeth is among the best summer pears for eastern America, either for home consumption or for the markets. The characters which commend it are: handsome, well-flavored fruits; and vigorous, hardy, productive trees, which are as resistant to blight as those of any other European pear, and which come in bearing early and bear annually. Faults are: the fruits are small, a fault that can be overcome somewhat by thinning; they are a little coarse in texture of flesh, which is a little too gritty; and the flavor, while good for an early pear, is not as sweet and rich as might be desired. The trees are nearly flawless, failing, if at all, in not attaining as great size as some other inhabitants of pear orchards. The crop is often borne in clusters--a defect by reason of which the fruits are so often small. But even with these defects, we must end as we began with the statement that this is one of the best summer pears.